Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer explains the importants of the DUI grant to police department.

Fresno, CA (Nov. 17, 2009) - It was announced today that the California Office of Traffic Safety has awarded Fresno County and the city of Fresno a total of more than $1 million in order to further combat drunk driving in the area.

Fresno County has received a $476,000 grant that will fund a specialized team that will investigate and prosecute repeat DUI offenders who cause bodily harm or kill someone.  In addition, the Fresno Police Department has been awarded a $482,000 DUI grant for sobriety checkpoints, stakeout operations, and court stings.  A portion of this grant will fund 100 sobriety checkpoints in 2010.

"I can tell you that no city is doing more sobriety checkpoints than the city of Fresno," said Christopher Murphy, director of the California Office of Traffic Safety, who also said that DUI checkpoints are the most preventive measure against drunk driving, according to research.

In all, the California Office of Traffic Safety next year will fund 2,500 checkpoints in the state of California, a record for the most ever.

Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer said he believes the 100 checkpoints will be the most by any single agency in the United States.

"We're very, very proud of that," Dyer said.

The instances of driving under the influence in the area seem to be lessening.  According to Dyer, there were 52 people killed in DUI accidents in 2002, and so far this year that number has been 20.  Each year, 3,000 people in Fresno are arrested for drunk driving.

Fresno County District Attorney Elizabeth Egan said the county saw 8,000 DUI cases in 2008, 13 of them involving fatalities and 144 of them involving bodily harm.  This year there has been only 6,000 DUI cases, with seven involving fatalities and 107 that involved injuries.

“This funding will go a long way toward increasing public safety and promoting crime prevention efforts countywide," Egan said.

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